“It’s an honor to be recognized by an organization that has worked for so long to protect and advocate for children,” said Casey. “Our children are our greatest resource. As a public official, I have strived to do all I can to improve the safety of our children and to ensure they have the proper care and education especially in their formative years. I look forward to continued work with the Children’s Advocacy Centers to promote issues to our children.”
“We are thrilled to honor Senator Casey with this Champion for Pennsylvania’s Children award for his commitment to meeting children’s safety and developmental needs,” said Alison Gray, Chapter Coordinator of PA Children’s Advocacy Centers and Multidisciplinary Teams. “He championed effective implementation of Megan’s Law and lends his support to CACs and Multi-Disciplinary Teams.”
In May, Senator Casey introduced the Prepare All Kids Act. The bill will assist states in providing at least one year of high quality pre-kindergarten to children. The plan calls for a new federal investment to be accompanied by matching funds from the states.
Earlier this year, Senator Casey joined Senators Rockefeller, Kennedy, and Baucus to author an amendment as part of the fiscal year 2008 budget debate that states, in part, that reauthorizing SCHIP is the Senate’s top health care priority and that expanding health care coverage to uninsured children is urgent.
During his time as Auditor General, Senator Casey led the fight to reform Megan's Law to give families more information about convicted sex offenders living in their communities. His audits also helped to improve child care safety and to make child care more affordable.
There are 19 accredited CACs in Pennsylvania and 6 more in development. The centers are child-focused, community-oriented, facility-based program in which representatives from many disciplines meet to discuss and make decisions about investigation, treatment and prosecution of child abuse cases. They also work to prevent further victimization of children.
